


Incomparable

by Goodie_Whemper, peachyskies



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gang AU, Gangs, Gangsters, Gen, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-12-23 08:57:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11986497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goodie_Whemper/pseuds/Goodie_Whemper, https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachyskies/pseuds/peachyskies
Summary: Song Ara is in one of the most notorious gangs, The Clan, in Seoul, if not the entire of Korea. Her shot is renowned nationwide. Lim Changkyun is a newbie to The Clan's biggest rival gang, The X. He's rising through the ranks quickly and is even starting to make a name for himself.The gangs have been at each other's throats for almost two years. Drive-bys. Bombs. Snipers. The law enforcement of Seoul are trying to force a ceasefire between the two rivals. Ara and Changkyun are thrown into the middle of it.Will they succeed in their mission, or will their ill-fated love compromise it?Based on Romeo & Juliet, lil bit of Pulp Fiction, and West Side Story





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Big props to my fave Ayla for helping me out with this. You're a babe. I'd tag you but idk how. Love ya!

Ara sat down on the black sofa in her living room and sighed. The pictures surrounding her were of friends, family, her lover, Changkyun, and their daughter. If you had told her that she would be married with a child and another on the way a few years ago, she’d have laughed in your face. But there she was.  
You see, Song Ara was in a high position of one of the most notorious gangs of Seoul. The gang life and a loving family is not something you often see paired together. Except maybe in dramas or, I don’t know, books or fanfiction or something. But nevertheless, Ara had somehow managed it. That was, until now.  
Today was the day. After months of planning their escape from their gang lives, Changkyun, Ara and Minha would finally be free. With the help of Jooheon, Minhyuk and Shownu, Ara had organised a detailed plan that would have them half way across the world in less than 24 hours.  
As she thought about their departure, worry was spread across Ara’s face. Changkyun was supposed to be back an hour ago. He’d had a job that needed finishing first before he could leave and after arguing Ara had given in and let him go. Her chest tightened at the thought that it could have gone wrong. Changkyun was known for talking too much.  
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and thought about texting him but she realised that would be a bad idea, especially if he was on a job. She placed her phone back into her pocket and sighed out of annoyance.

“Mommy, is Daddy a bad person?”


	2. The Longest Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jooheon and Ara from The Clan are drafted in to arrange an armistice with the rival clan, The X. Things don't really go to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, big thanks to Ayla for helping me out!!

_Thump, thumpthump thump thumpthump-_

A man and a woman stand outside a nightclub, side by side. They’re not speaking, or even really looking at eachother, which makes the close proximity seem weird without context. Any passerby who cared enough might be watching them for signs of embarrassment or affection, or even a shared cigarette to explain the silent bond. They would find none.

If we’re being honest. It’s a bit weird _within_ context.

Rain sloughs out of the drainpipe over their head and leaks onto them. The man grimaces. The woman thumps his arm.

“Ow! What?” The male whines as he holds the place of impact.

“What’s this song called?”

“What?”

“The song. It’s been annoying me for like the past five minutes. I know it, I just don’t know it, you know?”

The man screws up his face, trying to identify the bassline through several layers of brick, concrete and drunken club-goers.

“Why do you expect me to know?”

“You were an underground rapper once, Jooheon?”

“Doesn’t mean I know. Anyway, it’s called Be Quiet by some new rookie group.” He pauses for a moment, “Monsta X or something?”

The woman tilts her head to the side for a moment, putting the name to the song. She snorts and rolls her eyes, holding in a laugh. Then she raises her eyebrows, nodding.

“Yeah. You’re right.” Of course he is.

They’re silent for several more minutes.

“You’re nervous,” the man says eventually.

The woman looks at him incredulously. “Pfff. Nah. No. Why would you even think that? We’ve done this hundreds of times! Five! Five whole times. No reason to be nervous. Pff.”

“Ara,” he says levelly. “You hit me when you’re nervous.”

“That’s not fair, I hit you all of the time.” She laughs, trying to make light of the situation.

“Well, I know it’s not because I’m being annoying, because I’ve done nothing but stand here silently in the rain next to you for twenty minutes. What’s up?”

The woman - Ara - shifts her weight uncomfortably. She is not what you would call a feelings sharer. She's not even particularly a feelings feeler, unless violence or sarcasm count. She's pretty sure they don't. In any case, chatting about her worries with a stuffed animal in arm under a warm blanket fort is not what you would call her bag. But Jooheon knows her better than that. He's known her longer than that. So she's finding nowadays that the blanket fort is becoming more difficult to escape from. Metaphorically speaking, of course. He doesn’t have a real one.

Probably.

“He's late. I don't like it when he's late, ok? It doesn’t happen often enough so it throws me off,” she says eventually, a particularly large water droplet free falling onto her nose. She snorts.

“It’s raining.” Jooheon states.

“No shit.” Ara rolls her eyes, looking down at her now soaked black jeans and blouse.

“Should have brought an umbrella.”

Ara shakes her head at Jooheon, “Umbrellas are for the weak.”

The man they are waiting for never turns up. Instead, in his place, a car arrives with some cronies and guards who look like they would rather be anywhere else. As they step out of their car, one opens up an umbrella as the others try to fit under it.

“As I was saying.” Ara smirks, “umbrellas are for the weak.”

Jooheon snorts and they fall into silence again.

As they make their way over to Ara and Jooheon, the one who appears to be the leader looks her up and down and pays no mind to the male next to her. He looks greedy. _Typical_ , she thought. _Another creep_. It’s not as though she wasn’t used to this. It happens every single time. They expected a Mr. Song not a Miss Song. On one hand, it sometimes got her out of trouble. On the other, it sometimes got her in trouble.

The cronies signal for the pair to follow them and they oblige. Jooheon and Ara walk side by side once again in silence as they are chaperoned into the building.

The club is dark, even with the presence of the red blacklights that create a sort of dangerous glow. Ara notes the smell of stale alcohol and sweat. The stench is typical of a nightclub. Bass is bouncing off of the walls and cutting through Ara’s body. While she’s used to hanging out in clubs across the city, she still feels as though the bass is grabbing at her heart. It is crowded, which only makes it more uncomfortable for Ara. She’s not a feeling person and she _definitely_ is not a people person. They just get in the way. All the time. Too many times had she seen innocent people caught up in the war between the two gangs and she couldn’t understand why.

This is another one of those times. They’re having fun now but do they know that there is a possibility of a gun fight any moment?

Jooheon and Ara had been drafted into forming an armistice with their rival gang, The X. She didn't particularly want to do it. The Clan, the pairs gang, had chosen Ara and Jooheon due to their expertise in weapon negotiations. This, however, is something very different.

Looking at her friend next to her, Ara notices the sweat beads already forming on his forehead as they walk together. You wouldn’t think that he was the son of a mob boss. Ara stifles a laugh at Jooheon’s paleing face. He’s just as nervous. The blacklights giving his brown hair a red glow that makes Ara reminisce about that time a few years ago when Jooheon turned up to an arms deal with bright red hair. It worked to their advantage in the end. She smiles to herself, thinking about how long Jooheon and herself had been partners in crime, quite literally.

Each gang leader was supposed to be there, however neither were. Jooheon’s father was weary of Hyungwon and The X. Mr. Lee worried that it would be a trap that his ageing body could not escape from. Hyungwon was just as weary. The tensions between both gangs had reached boiling point and the police had begged them to form some form of agreement. Drive-by shootings, raids by the opposing gang and territorial fights were becoming a daily occurrence. Although, on paper, the police rule the city, in practice Seoul is run by The Clan, with pockets being held by The X.

The Clan are an organised crime family unit that have been working since the 1960’s. There is a long history, filled with blood, angst and bullets. After years of fighting off every other gang that dared to oppose them, a time came in the earliest years of the 21st Century where there was peace. The Clan were the sole “protectors” of the city, owning all the nightclubs, all the drug pushers and all of the gambling houses. That was until May 2015, when Hyungwon, a high-standing member of The Clan, decided he wanted some of the power for himself. He created a splinter group called The X with The Clan’s best marksman Wonho. It is now 2017, the war between the gangs had been present for two years. There is no turning back for either gang and no signs of backing down. It is at a stalemate.

That’s what Ara is told anyway. She has her doubts that it is the whole truth. Deep down, she feels that there is something more that Mr. Lee is not telling her.

They follow a cronie to a back room where the negotiation was to be held. When they reach a glass door. Jooheon enters following two of the guards. Ara begins to walk forwards until an arm stretches out before the door as it slams shut.

“Huh?” She looks up at what she assumes is the bouncer, disappointed but not surprised. They’ve mistaken her for a mafia wife… Again.

“Aren’t you gonna let me in?”

“Mob members only, sweetheart. Don’t worry your pretty little face.”

Ara rolls her eyes so far back she’s certain that she can see her brain. She tries to signal to Jooheon but his back is to her. She breathes harshly out of her nose.

“Listen here, asshole. I didn’t come here to play mafia wife. Ask my friend. I’m Song. Song Ara.”

“Oh? You’re the Song that we have heard so much about?”

“What? You didn’t expect this?” Ara motions to herself, taunting the man in front of her.

“Oh. I knew what we were expecting, sweetheart. Just didn’t know you’d be so easy to catch.” The man laughs.

“What are you-”

Ara is cut off when a rough fabric bag is forced over her head. She quickly moves her hands upwards to take it off but they are yanked sharply behind her back.

“Jooheon!” She yells, knowing full well what is about to happen.

God. She hates being the “damsel in distress” but it happens so often that she’s got used to it. They assume women = easy target.

She’s being dragged backwards now. Although she’s not entirely sure where. The heels of her brogues are digging into the ground beneath her hoping to find some balance. At this point, Ara isn’t even resisting. How can she when her senses are impaired? She can’t fight what she can’t see. She knows that. She also knows that her fate is sealed. The best way to deal with this situation right now is to comply until she sees an opportunity to escape.

Her name is called, albeit faintly, and although she cannot tell where it is coming from, she knows it is Jooheon.

_Shit… Jooheon._

This is going to look bad on his resume. If he makes it out alive; that is. Although Ara has no doubt in her mind that he will. It’s Jooheon, right? He’ll get out of there. He might even cement a deal or armistice. Who knows? Who is she even trying to convince? She’s not even convincing herself. Best case scenario is that he isn’t in a bodybag when he leaves the club. Mr. Lee is going to kill her.

 _The backup should be here soon._ Ara thinks to herself. _Jooheon knows to send them a signal. He’ll be alright. Think about yourself. Dammit!_

She makes a loud grunt and a thud as she is thrown into what she assumes is the trunk of a car. The door closes loudly and confirms her suspicion.

It’s going to be one long night.


	3. Pocket Knife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ara has been kidnapped by the rival gang The X. Can she escape without any back up?

It feels as though they have been driving for hours. At least, that’s what Ara thinks. She’s not sure. Being shrouded in darkness and having her hands tied behind her back definitely made car journeys seem a lot longer.

Suddenly the car stops, throwing Ara forward, “ _fuck_ ” passing through her lips as she hit her head. She heard the car door open and footsteps come closer.

Well… Shit… This was it. She was going to die right here. With a bag over her head and her hands tied behind her back. Or maybe they’d be so kind as to let her dig her own grave? Or was that just a story she had heard?

She is manhandled out of the trunk and stood up onto her feet. Her heels hit the ground first, making a loud click. This confirms to her that she won’t be doing any digging.

“Walk.” A man commands her. He gives her a sharp push between her shoulder blades that forces her forwards.

Ara knows that to survive for as long as possible, she has to obey. Doesn’t mean she can’t have fun though, right?

“How can I walk properly if I can’t see?” She challenges.

“Grab her and make her walk.”

Both of her arms are grabbed on each side, seemingly by different people judging by where they’ve placed their arms, and she is forcefully dragged along. The speed her guides are walking at keeps causing Ara to stumble. She only wishes that she could see where she was going.

In front of her, she hears doors open. A cold breeze assaults her as she walks through them and she assumes it’s air conditioning. This means she’s entered a building. Maybe it’s the headquarters of The X. She’s not entirely sure. She’s no Sherlock. She’s not that good at deducing. Ara just likes to guess. It calms her.

It’s not long before they reached the destination and she is thrown onto a chair. The bag over her head is ripped off and Ara blinks violently as she tries to adjust to the bright lights in the white room.

“Keep her here.” A man, whose voice she recognises as the man who brought her here, says to two guards. He leaves silently.

Ara almost laughs. The guards were only a couple of inches taller than her and definitely did not have enough meat on their bones to keep her here. She’s a lot stronger than she looks. It’s not long before Ara realises that the idiots haven’t tied her feet or her arms to the chair, that means she can easily stand and move around. She rolls her eyes.

_Come on, this is just basic shit that you learn in the movies…_ She thinks to herself. The only issue is that the guys before these idiots had tied her arms behind her back.

As quiet as she can (although to be honest even if she was loud, she doesn’t think they’d notice too much since they’re enthralled in their own conversation), Ara brings her ankles as close as she can to her hands, hoping to reach her trusty pocket knife that is always hidden in her sock. The others told her it was stupid. It’s a good thing she didn’t listen. Not that she ever does anyway.

She just to say manages to roll her jeans up to expose her sock and that’s when she realises. _Fuck. Where is it?_ She panics before the realisation dawns on her.

Wrong leg.

Eventually, she gets what she was looking for. Her red swiss army knife. It had been passed down by her grandfather who told her that it could save her life someday. _Papa, I believe that day has finally arrived_.

She slices through the thin rope with ease. These guys made so many mistakes. It’s almost as if they were rookies.

Ara stretches her arms out and groans, gaining the attention of the two scrawny guards in front of her. They turn around to her standing upon the chair.

“Hello, boys.” She smiles.

One of the guards makes a run towards her, as if he was going to restrain her with his gangly arms. She throws the knife and it pierces him right between the eyes. The other guard’s eyes widen in fear.

“Are you next, big boy?” Ara teases, jumping down. The boy turns on his heels to run but Ara grabs him by his shirt, and pulls him back. She throws him against one of the white walls and picks him up by the collar of his shirt.

“I don’t suppose you know why I’m here?”

“I don’t know who you are. I’m just a recruit.”

“Really? What a shame. I was going to enjoy torturing you for info. You seem like the type that would scream like a little bitch.” She scoffs, letting him go.

At this point, Ara was just playing a game, she knew there was no way that this boy could defeat her. He takes the opportunity to swing at her and she ducks, giving him a sharp jab to the gut. He hunches over in pain and Ara elbows him right between his shoulder blades, winding him and forcing him to the ground. For a moment, she thinks she’s going to have to fight more but he gives up and just lays there.

“Oh. Okay… You’re giving up?”

“Maybe Mom was right. Maybe I am too weak to do this job.” The boy whines.

Knowing that he definitely is not going to fight anymore, Ara decides to respond, “Why don’t you try something else? The mafia can always use some good negotiators. I’m sure if you asked then they’d let you.”

She walks over the body on the floor, pulling out the knife. The second guard lifts his head slightly. “Really? They’d let me do that?”

“Maybe. I’m not a member of The X so I don’t know. The Clan might take you, buddy. Also… uh… Sorry about your friend.” Ara motions to the lifeless body in front of her.

The boy nods, “Will you let me live if I just stay down?”

“Sure thing, buddy... But you have to stay down 100% or I will kill you. I won’t hesitate. You know that.” He nods again and keeps his head to the ground.

Ara moves the chair and positions it in front of the vent. She looks behind her to check if the boy is still down. To her surprise he still is.

“Hey, kid. What’s your name?”

“Sanha. Yoon Sanha.”

“Well Sanha, I hope to see you have joined The Clan soon rather than being in this shithole.” She smiles. He smiles back at her, his braces on show.

Ara climbs into the vent and starts her escape plan. Hopefully the room wasn’t bugged otherwise he is in a lot of shit. She makes a mental note to tell her boss about him. Maybe he’d take him in. He was going to need a shit load of protection if he was thinking about quitting The X. There's no way a mafia group would just _let_ someone go. Even a rookie.

It wasn’t long before Ara found herself lost in the air vent. She was looking through every single exit, only to find it blocked off by much more intimidating guards than in the previous room. She has started to come to the conclusion that she’s just going to have to live in here and survive off air. At least until they find her.

She’s not sure if it was divine intervention (probably not) or pot luck but just before she completely gives up, Ara looks through an exit and finds a flight of stairs. They only go up.

_Jackpot._

Ara isn’t 100% but she’s pretty sure that indicates that there is an exit nearby. She’s definitely on the ground floor. Just to check, she changes her position and peers through the shutters again, noticing two doors. One that is a heavy iron door and one that leads out into the street. _Hallelujah._ She almost became religious, right there and then.

Without checking for guards, Ara kicks open the hatch and jumps out. She straightens up and looks directly into the eyes of possibly the biggest guard she has seen all day. And, guess what? He’s heading straight for her.

_Fuck._ She steps backwards, and steadies herself into a defensive position. Ara closes her eyes and waits for the inevitable pain that is about to occur. It never does.

“Hey, sorry I’m late, I’m still getting lost in this buil- wait. Who are you?” The boy stops. Ara opens one eye and notices the heavy iron door swung open, the guard knocked out behind it and in front of her a male who must be a similar age to herself.

They both stare at each other for a few moments.

“Oh fuck.” They both say as they recognise each other as the enemy.

The boy is frozen in place. His dyed light brown hair falls over his eyes. Ara doesn’t know what to do with herself. Does she know attack him? He’s so pretty? Why is he just standing there? Ara, shut up.

It’s then that Ara hears people running behind her and decides that is her cue to leave. She comes to her senses and plays up her confidence.

“Well, I best be on my way out. Nice meeting you, sir. You should probably pretend that I beat you up too otherwise you’ll lose your street cred. Ciao.” She smirks to him before slipping past him.

He rolls his eyes as he watches her exit the building before coming back to his senses as the marching footsteps get closer. He slips back through the door he came from. The boy isn’t exactly sure what just happened. But he knew exactly who she was. Song Ara.

I.M, or Changkyun as he’s known to his close friends, and his gang had been trying to catch her for months now. He didn’t know she’d be so fucking annoying in person. The footsteps stop outside the door and mumbling ensues. Changkyun assumes that this means he can come out of his hiding place.

“I can’t believe we lost her. We had her.” Hyungwon sighs.

“I fucking told you we needed to assign her the tougher guards.” Wonho grumbles.

“Well, thanks.” Hyungwon is about to argue with Wonho but he sees Changkyun enter the room, “I.M.”

“Uh… Hi?”

“You sent a message earlier saying that you needed to see me.”

“Oh… Yes. We have a problem.”

“... Go on.”


End file.
